How Familial Characteristics and Parental Gender Socialization Influencesthe Divergence of Expectation and Aspirations in African American YouthNicole Taylor, University of California, Irvine

Literature Review•While 82% of African Americans earn a high school diploma,7 the graduation rate amongst black males is alarming with only 59% of them earning a high school diploma.6 •42% of African American students are graduating from universities compared to 62% of white students.2•Many research articles have found that racial discrimination is correlated with the poor academic performances of black students.

- There are links between African American parents’ expectations that their sons will experience racial discrimination and their sons’ own expectations that they will graduate from college.5, 8, 9

- Contrarily, perceptions of gender discrimination from parents did not affect African American females’ academic aspirations or expectations.10

•The current study seeks to create a better understanding as to why African Americans have been underperforming by examining the relation between racial discrimination and academic aspirations and expectations.

- Specifically, the research questions we were trying to answer were whether familial characteristics and gender socialization influence the expectations and aspirations of African American youth?

MethodsSample• Drawn from the Maryland Adolescent Development in Contexts Study (all participants that did not identify as African American were excluded)• 11th Grade, 51% male & 49% female• SES: Middle Class• Wave 3: n = 645, Wave 4: n = 556

MeasuresDiscrimination VariablesSalience of Discrimination (5 items, α = 0.72, M = 2.16)“How often do you talk about discrimination you may face because of your race?”1 = almost never 2 = less than once a month 3 = 1-3 times a month 4 = about once a week 5 = a few times a week 6 = almost everyday Youth Report of Parent Worry of Discrimination (2 items, α = 0.82,M = 1.68)“How much does your parent(s) worry that you will be discriminated against at school because of your sex?” 1 = not at all 2 = a little 3 = some 4 = quite a bit 5 = a lot

Peer Related Discrimination (3 items, α = 0.83, M = 1.32)“How often do you feel that you are not picked for certain teams or other school activities because of your race?” 1 = never 2 = a couple of times a year 3 = a couple times each month 4 = once or twice each week 5 = everyday

Youth Report Parent Expectations for Discrimination (2 items, α = 0.83, M = 4.27)“How good a student do your parents expect you to be in high school?”1 = One of the worst students 2 = Not as good as most of the students 3 = Same as most of the students 4 = Better than most of the students 5 = One of the best students

Obstacles to School Attainment Involving Racial and Sexual Barriers (3 items, α = 0.53, M = 2.30)“Discrimination because of (CHILD'S) sex?”1 = not at all 2 = a little 3 = some 4 = quite a bit 5 = a lot

Conclusions•Recent news regarding police brutality makes this research of critical importance since exposure to racist events has been cited as a positive predictor of depressive symptoms4 and depression has an adverse affect on academic performance.1

•Surprisingly, variable “Youth Report of Academic Expectations” was not significant, which may have been due to influential institutional variables that were not measured•It may be that parents who tell their children that they will determinately experience racial discrimination negatively affect the students’ self efficacy. To avoid this, programs should be developed to teach parents how to have productive conversations about race. There also will need to be a revision of education policies that promote institutional racism, so that students do not have to grow up in an environment where their grades are negatively impacted by discrimination.

Future ResearchResearch in the future should examine how school contextual factors such as teachers, tracking, and zero tolerance policies relate to the academic aspirations and expectations of African American youth. Specifically, there needs to be a better understanding about how these contextual factors affect the development of African American oppositional culture. Ogbu theorized that African Americans created a new culture to follow due to the discrimination that has counteracted their high aspirations.3 More research needs to be conducted to determine if this is true and if it is, further work should be done to determine factors that could help African Americans feel confident enough to pursue their aspirations despite the racial discrimination that they face. Further research should also investigate why African American males report a higher salience of discrimination. It may be because males have been socialized to not express themselves and this, in turn, negatively affects their school work.

Partial Correlation Table

Results

T-Test Table 1 Measuring Racial Discrimination

T-Test Table 2 Measuring Educational Occupation

• Females report that their parents worry more that they will experience discrimination and that they have higher expectations for discrimination than males

• Males report more salience of discrimination in their communication with their parents than females

• There was a positive correlation between salience of discrimination and parent discrimination expectations

• Females report that they have higher academic expectation and higher academic self-concepts than males

AcknowledgementsI wish to express my sincere thanks to Anne Marie Conley and Jacquelynne Eccles, faculty members in the School of Education, for providing me with the necessary facilities for research and for assisting me despite the short time period in which I proposed this project. I would also like to thank Meeta Banerjee for being the Principal Advisor for my project and for guiding me through my data analyses. I am also grateful for Jodi Quas, faculty member in the School of Social Ecology, Jeanett Castellanos, a lecturer in the School of Social Ecology, and UROP Counselor, Philippe Relouzat, for the valuable guidance and encouragement extended to me. Finally, I would like to the UROP for the grant that allowed me to complete this project.

Academic VariablesAcademic Motivation Beliefs-Understanding Materials (2 items, α = 0.72, M = 1.65)“If I try hard enough, then I will understand the material in my college courses (R).”1 = strongly agree 2 = agree 3 = neither agree nor disagree 4 = disagree 5 = strongly disagree Educational Utility (6 items, α = 0.45, M = 2.24)“My education is giving me the basic academic skills I need (R).”1 = strongly agree 2 = agree 3 = neither agree nor disagree 4 = disagree 5 = strongly disagree

Youth Report of Academic Expectations (2 items, α = 0.85, M = 6.29)“If you could do exactly what you wanted, how far would you like to go in school?”1 = 11th grade or less 2 = graduate from High school 3 = post high school vocational or technical training 4 = some college 5 = graduate from a business college or two year college with associates degree 6 = graduate from a 4 year college 7 = get a masters degree or a teaching credential 8 = get a law degree, a Ph.D., or a medical doctor’s degree

Academic Performance (6 items, α = 0.87, M = 1.90)“I am confident that I can do an excellent job on the assignments and tests in my courses (R ).”1 = strongly agree 2 = agree 3 = neither agree nor disagree 4 = disagree 5= strongly disagree

Academic Self-Concept (7 items, α = 0.85, M = 5.22)“Compared to others your age, how well do you do in other school subjects?”1 = much worse than other kids 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 = much better than other kids Importance of Education (2 items, α = 0.60, M = 3.78)“Schooling is not so important for people like me.”1 = strongly agree 2 = agree 3 = neither agree nor disagree 4 = disagree 5 = strongly disagree